Applying Human-centered Design in Waterfall for Digital Health Product Implementation

When creating digital health products, it’s important to use a development process that ensures the end product meets the needs of its users—patients, clinicians, and caregivers. While Agile methods are popular today, many teams still use the Waterfall approach. Understanding how to apply human-centered design (HCD) within this framework can help ensure the final product is effective and user-friendly.

What is the Waterfall Approach?

The Waterfall approach is a linear and structured method for developing software. It progresses through a series of distinct phases: requirements gathering, design, implementation, testing, and deployment. Each phase must be completed before the next one begins, with a review and sign-off process at each stage. This method is often seen as predictable and easy to manage because it lays out a clear path from start to finish.

However, the Waterfall approach also has challenges, particularly when making changes or addressing unforeseen issues. Once a phase is completed, going back to make changes can be difficult and costly.

Human-Centered Design in the Waterfall Process

Human-centered design focuses on understanding the needs and challenges of the end-users. In digital health, this means creating products that are easy to use, accessible, and effective for patients and healthcare providers. Applying HCD in a Waterfall process requires careful planning and a strong emphasis on the early design and development stages.

Here’s how HCD can be integrated into each phase of the Waterfall process:

1. Requirements Gathering: This is the most critical stage for integrating HCD into the Waterfall approach. At this stage, it’s important to involve real users—patients, clinicians, and caregivers—in the process. Conduct interviews, surveys, and observational studies to gather insights into their needs, pain points, and preferences. These insights should directly inform the product requirements.
   
   

2. Design: Once the requirements are clear, the design phase begins. Here, HCD principles guide the creation of user-friendly prototypes and mockups that align with the needs identified during the requirements phase. It’s important to test these designs with actual users to ensure they meet expectations before proceeding to the next phase.
   
   

3. Implementation: During implementation, the focus is on building the product according to the designs. While this phase is less flexible, it’s crucial to keep user needs in mind and ensure the development team understands the importance of usability and accessibility.
   
   

4. Testing: In the testing phase, the product is evaluated to ensure it meets the specified requirements. This is also an opportunity to conduct usability testing with real users to identify any product design or functionality issues. If significant problems are found, it can be challenging to address them at this stage, but it’s better to catch and correct issues now than after deployment.
   
   

5. Deployment: Finally, the product is released to the market. While the Waterfall process doesn’t easily accommodate changes after this point, ongoing user feedback should still be gathered to inform future updates or releases.
   
   

Challenges of HCD in the Waterfall Approach

One of the main challenges of integrating HCD into the Waterfall process is the lack of flexibility. Once a phase is completed, it’s difficult and expensive to go back and make changes. Getting the requirements and design right from the start is crucial.

Another challenge is that user validation typically occurs late in the process. In Agile, user feedback is continuously integrated, but in Waterfall, it often comes only during testing or after deployment. This can lead to significant issues being discovered too late, requiring costly follow-up work.

Maximizing Success with HCD in Waterfall

It’s important to prioritize thorough user research and validation early in the process to overcome these challenges. This means investing time in the requirements gathering and design phases to ensure the product is aligned with user needs. Additionally, building as much flexibility as possible during the design phase can help mitigate the risks of late-stage changes.

Even within the constraints of the Waterfall approach, human-centered design can lead to better digital health products that are more likely to be adopted and used effectively by their intended audience. By focusing on the users and their needs from the beginning, you can create products that function well and make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients and healthcare providers.